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First Patient to Have Brain Tumor Removed Through Her Eyebrow Leaves Hospital in 2 Days Thanks to Technique

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NHS Grampian surgeon Dr. Giamouriadis with Doreen Adams – SWNS
NHS Grampian surgeon Dr. Giamouriadis with Doreen Adams – SWNS

A 75-year-old woman has become the first person in the world to have a brain tumor removed through an eyebrow incision, according to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

The new procedure not only slashes the hours needed on the operating table, but patient recovery time, as well.

Doreen Adams underwent the unique procedure after a previous craniotomy to remove the tumor produced an unsuccessful result.

“The difference in the two surgeries is night and day,” reported Adams, who was able to leave the hospital in Scotland two days after the surgery.

The operation was carried out by pioneering NHS surgeon Anastasios Giamouriadis in Grampian, Scotland. He adapted an already existing technique and used it to remove tumor growth, a surgery that leaves patients with only a small scar and a temporary black eye.

The procedure also allows for surgeons to carry out the operation more quickly than a traditional craniotomy, which removes parts of the skull to expose the brain. The new method takes just three hours, compared to the craniotomy’s required 8-10.

“The recovery after the craniotomy was tough. It took a lot of time,” said the Aberdeen woman who was refereed to Dr. Giamouriadis after the surgery unfortunately did not solve the problem.

In contrast, her recovery following the surgery at ARI (the main teaching hospital in Grampian associated with the University of Aberdeen) was “much, much quicker”.

“I was out of hospital two days later and back to my normal life almost immediately.”

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Dr. Giamouriadis didn’t invent this type of surgery, but he modified it to give himself more space to work

“It is allowing me to remove very big brain tumors,” he said in an NHS statement. “We are not aware of anywhere else in the world that has managed to remove tumors as large as we have.”

“It’s a game-changer and much less invasive. Traditionally people would be left with scars across their full forehead, we avoid that with this method.

“Before we needed to do a craniotomy to give us full access. That takes a very long time. To get to the tumor takes up to three hours alone.”

His technique—which has been endorsed by British Neurological Society and European Association of Neurosurgical Societies—is also beneficial for the surgeon.

“The very tricky part with these operations is at the very end. You are dealing with tiny vessels on the optic nerves, like hairs. You can see them only under very high magnification.

TRANSPLANT MIRACLE: New Tech Revives ‘Unusable’ Organs, as 10 Successful Transplants Used Kidneys That Are Normally Discarded

“When you are operating and you are nine hours in, surgeons can be understandably tired, so our way reduces the risk of error by reducing the operation length.

“With this method you are at the tumor in 30-40 minutes and, when you’re doing the last part of the operation, the surgeon is still fresh.”

Patients who have undergone the operation—known as the Modified Eyebrow Keyhole SupraOrbital Approach for Brain tumors—have seen remarkable recoveries, with many returning to normal life just days later.

“After the traditional method patients are kept asleep, we wake them up very slowly they require intensive care for a good few days. They then spend quite a few weeks on a ward and then usually need rehab,” he said.

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“With this technique patients wake up straight away; they sometimes go home the day after the operation, where we know patients have quicker and better recoveries.

“That’s big for the patient, but also for the hospital in terms of maximizing capacity. The patient goes home the next day, with a black eye. In a few months they have a barely visible scar.”

Doreen adds, “To think you can have brain surgery and be back to normal within a few days is quite incredible.

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Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will’ Astrology From Rob Brezsny

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Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of October 26, 2024
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
As a teenager, I loved the music of Jefferson Airplane. I recall sitting on the couch in my New Jersey home and listening to their albums over and over again. Years later, I was performing on stage at a San Francisco nightclub with my band, World Entertainment War. In the audience was Paul Kantner, a founding member of Jefferson Airplane. After the show, he came backstage and introduced himself. He said he wanted his current band, Jefferson Starship, to cover two of my band’s songs on his future album. Which he did. I suspect you will soon experience a comparable version of my story, Scorpio. Your past will show up bearing a gift for your future. A seed planted long ago will finally blossom.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
My horoscopes are directed toward individuals, not groups. Yet it’s impossible to provide oracles about your personal destiny without considering the collective influences that affect you. Every day, you are impacted by the culture you live in. For instance, you encounter news media that present propaganda as information and regard cynicism as a sign of intellectual vigor. You live on a planet where the climate is rapidly changing, endangering your stability and security. You are not a narrow-minded bigot who doles out hatred toward those who are unlike you, but you may have to deal with such people. I bring this to your attention, Sagittarius, because now is an excellent time to take an inventory of the world’s negative influences—and initiate aggressive measures to protect yourself from them. Even further, I hope you will cultivate and embody positive alternatives.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
I suspect you will be extra attractive, appealing, and engaging in the coming weeks. You may also be especially convincing, influential, and inspirational. What do you plan to do with all this potency? How will you wield your flair? Here’s what I hope: You will dispense blessings everywhere you go. You will nurture the collective health and highest good of groups and communities you are part of. PS: In unexpected ways, being unselfish will generate wonderful selfish benefits.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Do you fantasize about being a masterful manager of your world? Have you imagined the joy of being the supreme sovereign of your holy destiny? Do you love the idea of rebelling against anyone who imagines they have the right to tell you what you should do and who you are? If you answered yes to those questions, I have excellent news, Aquarius: You are now primed to take exciting steps to further the goals I described. Here’s a helpful tip: Re-dedicate yourself to the fulfillment of your two deepest desires. Swear an oath to that intention.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
The Liberation Season is here. How can you take maximum advantage of the emancipatory energies? Here are suggestions: 1. Plan adventures to frontier zones. 2. Sing and dance in the wilderness. 3. Experiment with fun and pleasure that are outside your usual repertoire. 4. Investigate what it would mean for you to be on the vanguard of your field. 5. Venture out on a pilgrimage. 6. Give yourself permission to fantasize extravagantly. 7. Consider engaging in a smart gamble. 8. Ramble, wander, and explore.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Secrets and hidden agendas have been preventing you from getting an accurate picture of what’s actually happening. But you now have the power to uncover them. I hope you will also consider the following bold moves: 1. Seek insights that could be the key to your future confidence. 2. Change an aspect of your life you’ve always wanted to change but have never been able to. 3. Find out how far you can safely go in exploring the undersides of things. 4. Help your allies in ways that will ultimately inspire them to help you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
From the early 1910s to the late 1920s, silent films were the only kind of films that were made. The proper technology wasn’t available to pair sounds with images. “Talking pictures,” or “talkies,” finally came into prominence in the 1930s. Sadly, the majority of silent films, some of which were fine works of art, were poorly preserved or only exist now in second- or third-generation copies. I’m meditating on this situation as a metaphor for your life, Taurus. Are there parts of your history that seem lost, erased, or unavailable? The coming weeks will be an excellent time to try to recover them. Remembering and reviving your past can be a potent healing agent.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
An old proverb tells us, “You must run toward the future and catch it. It is not coming to meet you, but is fleeing from you, escaping into the unknown.” This adage isn’t true for you at all right now, Gemini. In fact, the future is dashing toward you from all directions. It is not shy or evasive, but is eager to embrace you and is full of welcoming energy. How should you respond? I recommend you make yourself very grounded. Root yourself firmly in an understanding of who you are and what you want. Show the future clearly which parts of it you really want and which parts are uninteresting to you.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
Early in his musical career, Cancerian innovator Harry Partch played traditional instruments and composed a regular string quartet. But by age 29, he was inventing and building novel instruments that had never before been used. Among the materials he used in constructing his Zymo-Xyl, Eucal Blossom, and Chromelodeon were tree branches, light bulbs, and wine bottles. I’m inviting you to enter into a Harry Partch phase of your cycle, Cancerian. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to express your unique genius—whether that’s in your art, your business, your personal life, or any other sphere where you love to express your authentic self.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Life’s unpredictable flow will bring you interesting new blessings if you revamp your fundamentals. Listen closely, Leo, because this is a subtle turn of events: A whole slew of good fortune will arrive if you joyfully initiate creative shifts in your approaches to talking, walking, exercising, eating, sleeping, meditating, and having fun. These aren’t necessarily earth-shaking transformations. They may be as delicate and nuanced as the following: 1. adding amusing words to your vocabulary; 2. playfully hopping and skipping as you stroll along; 3. sampling new cuisines; 4. keeping a notebook or recorder by your bed to capture your dreams; 5. trying novel ways to open your mind and heart; 6. seeking fresh pleasures that surprise you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
In an old Irish folk tale, the fairies give a queen a crystal cauldron with special properties. If anyone speaks three falsehoods in its presence, it cracks into three fragments. If someone utters three hearty truths while standing near it, the three pieces unite again. According to my metaphorical reading of your current destiny, Virgo, you are now in the vicinity of the broken cauldron. You have expressed one restorative truth, and need to proclaim two more. Be gently brave and bold as you provide the healing words.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
Let’s review the highlights of the recent months. First, you expanded your perspective, blew your mind, and raised your consciousness. That was fabulous! Next, you wandered around half-dazed and thoroughly enchanted, pleased with your new freedom and spaciousness. That, too, was fantastic! Then, you luxuriously indulged in the sheer enjoyment of your whimsical explorations and experimentations. Again, that was marvelous! Now you’re ready to spend time integrating all the teachings and epiphanies that have surged into your life in recent months. This might be less exciting, but it’s equally important.

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

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“The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” – James Joyce

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Quote of the Day: “The actions of men are the best interpreters of their thoughts.” – James Joyce

Photo by: Getty Images for Unsplash+ (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Eight Ounces of This Powder Removes as Much CO2 from the Air as a Tree

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Zihui Zhou UC Berkeley, supplied to the media.
credit – Zihui Zhou UC Berkeley, supplied to the media.

Included in the broad scientific consensus on climate change is the notion that it’s unlikely humans can prevent the worst events of 2°C of warming without removing excess carbon that’s already in the atmosphere.

To that end, student inventors at UC Berkeley have created this yellow powder, half a pound of which can absorb the same amount of CO2 as a mature oak tree.

GNN just reported that humanity may have more wiggle room to avoid the worst predicted effects of climate change than previously thought, based on updated models of CO2 absorption in plants.

Even still, if all currently developing economies follow the same or similar emissions curves that the G20 did during the 20th and 21st centuries, carbon still needs to be pulled from the atmosphere to keep the global amount under 450 parts per million—a number that is said to be a threshold beyond which excess carbon would be exceedingly dangerous.

To do so, engineers have been trying to devise the best methods to take carbon that’s already been emitted into the atmosphere and capture it. At the Climeworks plant up in Iceland, the world’s largest “direct air capture” device is storing 4,000 metric tons of atmospheric CO2 underground every year.

This yellow powder however, could perform substantially better if certain applications for its use could be developed.

It’s called COF-999, and it’s been engineered using non-exotic materials to be extremely porous and durable. Omar Yaghi, a reticular chemist, and UC Berkeley colleague Zihui Zhou, a materials chemist, designed it to act like a cross between an air filter and a sponge.

Made by some of the strongest chemical bonds, like those that hold diamond crystals together, COF-999 appears to be filled with channels under a microscope. Within these channels and attached to these strong bonds are compounds called amines that grab hold of passing carbon dioxide molecules as air moves through and against them.

MORE CLIMATE SURPRISES: Trees Reveal Climate Surprise: Bark Removes Methane from the Atmosphere

There are enough amines in just half a pound of this powder to soak up 88 pounds of CO2, about the same as a large tree does by the time it reaches maturity. Compared to synthetic materials used for direct air capture, it captures carbon about 10 times faster as well. Once absorbed, if the powder is heated to 140°F, all the CO2 is released.

This absorb and release can be repeated hundreds of times.

“It performs beautifully,” said Yaghi. “Based on the stability and the behavior of the material right now, we think it will go to thousands of cycles.”

OTHER POSITIVE CLIMATE DEVELOPMENTS: Five Top Headlines that Showcase the World’s Progress in the Climate Fight

At the moment, the major hurdle to overcome is how to position the powder in the open air, in a manufacturing or power plant that can deposit the carbon in a solid material, without it blowing away in the wind.

LA Times described the powder as ready for commercial scale within two years, according to Yaghi’s estimates. He and his colleague Zhou patented their invention and founded a startup to try and launch it into commercialization.

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Hoard of 1,000-yo Coins Unearthed in Farmer’s Field Nets Millions for Metal Detecting Friends–and Treasure for UK

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Andy Corbley
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© British Museum: The Chew Valley Hoard of 2,584 silver pennies dates from the turmoil of the Norman Conquest of England and has been acquired by the South West Heritage Trust.
© British Museum: The Chew Valley Hoard of 2,584 silver pennies dates from the turmoil of the Norman Conquest of England and has been acquired by the South West Heritage Trust.

The largest coin hoard ever found from the period of turmoil immediately following the Norman Conquest has been bought by the British government on behalf of the nation.

Consisting of 2,584 silver pennies, it was likely buried for safekeeping during a time when virtually the whole country was at war, and was recently valued at $5.6 million (£4.3 million) making it the highest value treasure acquisition on record, millions more than the gold and bejeweled Staffordshire Hoard that went on a world tour because of its fame.

© British Museum: The Chew Valley Hoard was probably deposited for safekeeping during rebellions in the South West against the new Norman king, William ‘the Conqueror’.

It’s called the Chew Valley Hoard, and like many of the great coin and treasure hoards in English archaeological history, it was found by some locals with a metal detector in a farmer’s field.

Adam Staples was out with six of his friends in southwest England in 2019 when he found the first set of coins.

“The first one was a William the Conqueror coin—£1,000, £1,500 value,” Staples said Tuesday at the British Museum, where the hoard will go on display in November. “It’s a really good find. It’s a find-of-the-year sort of discovery. And then we got another one, (we thought) there might be five, there might be 10.”

1,066 CE: often cited as one of the most important dates in the history of the English-speaking world when the last traces of Vikingism and Saxon rule in Great Britain were eliminated by the Norman Duke William the Conquerer.

Landing near Exeter, William I from Northern France had to fight Harold Godwinson, the Anglo-Saxon King of England who had just destroyed the invading army of the Norwegian Viking ruler Harald Hardrotta and consolidated power in the country.

These two campaigns threw most of the country into turmoil, but Godwinson was defeated at the Battle of Hastings, and the Saxon traditions of kingship in the British Isles were replaced with a French-style monarchy that changed Britain’s destiny for centuries to come.

A little less than half of the coins were minted during Godwinson’s reign, while a little more than half depict the newly-crowned William I. These in particular are believed to be the very first coins minted during his reign—first editions, if you like.

“This remarkable hoard gives us unique insight into our country’s rich history and one of the most important moments in our history, when these islands were thrown into turmoil by the Norman Conquest,” said Sir Chris Bryant, the Minister for Heritage.

MORE HOARDS DUG UP RECENTLY: 

The hoard contains twice as many coins of Harold II than have ever previously been found and increases nearly five times the number of known first-type coins of William I.

SWHT Curator of Archaeology, Amal Khreisheh © South West Heritage Trust

Once Staples and his friends discovered the coins, the next step was to see if they would be declared “treasure,” a decision made according to the 1996 Treasure Act by a local government coroner. The Treasure Act holds that any objects of historical value to the nation made of precious or semi-precious materials are declared treasure, and held on behalf of the finder while museums make bids to purchase them for their collections.

Typically the value is judged by the market rate of the material, in this case silver, (going for about $33.40 an ounce at the time of writing) plus a premium for the historical value. In this case, the premium is substantial and more than 90% of the value of the artifacts.

The Chew Valley Hoard was bought by the Southwest Heritage Trust of England with a £4,420,527 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and £150,000 from the Art Fund, alongside smaller but vital grants from other sources.

After a November debut at the British Museum, the hoard will return to Somerset where it was found, to join the collections at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton, 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of London.

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Middle Schooler Leads $11.5 Million Project to Build Air Filters for Connecticut Schools

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Andy Corbley
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credit - Funmike Shokunbi, family photo
credit – Funmike Shokunbi, family photo

A young Connecticut student is vowing classmates, students, and even state senators with her work designing cheap new air filters for classrooms.

Her name is Eniola Shokunbi, and before she reaches her goal of becoming President of the United States, she wanted to help keep classrooms free from cold and flu viruses circulating through the air.

In fifth grade, Shokunbi led some of her classmates in a design and build project at the Commodore MacDonough STEM Academy in Middletown, CT. Her idea was to create an air filter to clear the air of viruses circulating within aerosols through classrooms, which she managed with just a box fan, 4 furnace filters, duct tape, and cardboard.

With help from scientists at the University of Connecticut, she and her classmates tested and gathered results on the air filter’s potency and then took a field trip to the EPA, where the results were presented.

“This stuff is more effective than a lot of the commercial products on the market; it’s a lot cheaper and a lot more effective,” State Senator Matt Lesser told NBC CT.

OTHER GREAT YOUNG MINDS: Teens Invent Device that Removes Microplastics with Ultrasound Waves, Winning $50k

Shokunbi was in the room when the Connecticut State Bond Commission unanimously approved $11.5 million for the assembly and installation of the air filter system for other schools in the state, which the now-sixth grader said furthered her goal of getting these filters installed in every classroom in America.

LEADERSHIP IN THE CLASSROOM: 10-Year-old Raises $80,000 for Pearl Harbor Memorial After School Project Inspires Deep Admiration

“I want them to go to school knowing that they’re safe, that they’re healthy, that they can learn,” Shokunbi said. “I really love explaining to people and seeing their faces, seeing them realize that this could change so many lives.”

WATCH the story below from NBC CT… 

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Relief as Man Recovers His Stolen Car–and His Father’s Ashes Stowed Under the Back Seat

By
Andy Corbley
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Thomas Rice's pickup truck - credit, released by the family.
Thomas Rice’s pickup truck – credit, released by the family.

A man who visited Syracuse, North Carolina had his pickup truck stolen—along with his father’s ashes still lodged under the back seat.

Mr. Tom Rice had driven into town for his nephew’s wedding, and parked his blue Ford F-150 SuperCrew in a garage adjacent to the Courtyard Marriot on Fayette Street.

It was a beautiful mid-fall evening, and Rice, accompanied by his golden retriever Marshall, thought he’d walk the necessary blocks to the venue rather than drive.

After a night of fun and celebration, Rice woke up to a disaster—his truck was simply gone, along with his father’s ashes.

“I walked out and it was gone. I came in just to make sure it had [sic] been towed for some reason, and nobody knew anything, and I called 911,” Rice told WSYR, Channel 9.

His father had died on October 9th, nine days prior to the wedding. Rice had just been up to Connecticut where his father lived to retrieve the ashes before driving down to NC. He said that there was a space under the back seat where the box containing them fit perfectly, with no chance of them jostling around.

“It just hit me that everything was gone,” Rice said, adding that there were also Christmas presents and other memorabilia of his father’s. “My mom’s interred at the church down in North Carolina in a columbarium. That’s where dad is going to be interred, or was going to be interred. So we want to get those ashes back in any way we could.”

OTHER STORIES LIKE THIS: Boy Kidnapped 73 Years Ago is Finally Found–Just in Time to Reunite with Dying Brother

Fortunately, the truck was found over that weekend—abandoned on Onondaga Street in Syracuse. Either for reasons of decency or because they realized they weren’t of value, the thieves, who despite ransacking the contents of the truck, left the ashes behind along with many of his father’s other effects including his documents, and scale models of some of the planes he worked on as an engineer at Northrup Grumman.

Now that the ashes are recovered, Rice’s family plans to have his father’s service in November.

MORE LUCKY BREAKS: Good Samaritan Finds $12,000 and Returns it All to the Senior Citizen Who Lost it

“We’ve got some pretty interesting stuff for his eulogy about all of these fantastic things he did in his life, all of these adventures,” Syracuse.com. “And even after he passed away, he had one more adventure in store.”

WATCH the story below from Local Syr Channel 9 News… 

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“People often say, ‘I’m not interested in politics’. They might as well say, ‘I’m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms’.” – Martha Gellhorn

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “People often say, ‘I’m not interested in politics’. They might as well say, ‘I’m not interested in my standard of living, my health, my job, my rights, my freedoms’.” – Martha Gellhorn

Photo by: Ronda Darby (cropped)

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Near-Perfect Statue of Roman Citizen Unearthed During Construction in Bulgaria After Surviving for 1,700 Years

By
Andy Corbley
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Photo by Varna Regional History Museum
Photo by Varna Regional History Museum

Missing only a hand, a life-sized statue of a Roman citizen unearthed recently in Bulgaria is about as pristine as they come.

Found during construction work near the walls of the old fortress in the city of Varna, it depicts a middle-aged man holding a scroll and wearing a Roman-era toga—and thanks to a carved inscription, they even know his name.

The construction contractor, Georgi Kraychev, notified museum authorities after the shocking moment they came across the statue buried in the dirt.

Made of white marble, it had been remarkably well-preserved. Connected to both the Greek and Roman worlds, the city of Varna was once known as Odessos in antiquity.

Reflecting this heritage, the Roman individual was described on the base of the statue in Greek writing: “G(aius) Marius Hermogenes.”

Overly excitable fans of Roman history (including me) may wonder whether the statue bears some relevance to the Roman statesman, general, reformer, and seven-time consul, Gaius Marius—one of the most influential figures of the late Republican era.

However, the Sophia Globe reports that the statue likely dates to the 3rd century when the Roman Empire was still unified between East and West—and very much included Bulgaria.

Photo by Varna Regional History Museum

This would have been nearly 400 years after Marius’ death, and Roman naming customs can be frustratingly repetitive. For example, Gaius Marius’ son was also named Gaius Marius.

MORE BULGARIAN STORIES: 70 Vultures Released Into Bulgaria to Start Wild Population After Dying Out 60 Years Ago

The Varna Black Sea Regional History Museum said that the statue is awaiting cleaning and restoration.

Recently, GNN reported that excavations in the sewers of the classical city of Heraclea Syntica, also in Bulgaria but near the border with Greece, turned up another remarkably well-preserved marble statue.

Marble statue of Greek God Hermes found at Heraclea Syntica – Photo from Archaeologia Bulgaric Facebook (cropped)

SIMILAR DISCOVERIES: Archaeologists Find 24 Bronze Statues ‘Without Equal’ Preserved in Tuscany for 2,300 Years That ‘Rewrite History’

That one depicted not a human, but the messenger god, Hermes, and therefore was probably connected with Alexander the Great, the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon.

Evidently, Bulgarian soils are part-sand and part-marble wonders.

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International Team Successfully Restarts Animal Brain, Offering Hope for Heart Attack Treatment, Better Transplants

By
Andy Corbley
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Credit - George C for Unsplash +
Credit – George C for Unsplash +

An international team of neurosurgeons and organ transplant specialists recently discovered that a brain can be revived 50 minutes after being removed from the body if connected to a liver.

It was a bit of a ghoulish experiment, but the results could be vital to improving common resuscitation methods in cases of ischemic heart attack, one of the most common causes of death worldwide.

It’s generally the case that a brain can survive in an ischemic state for no more than 5 to 8 minutes. In a model of cardiac arrest, when blood isn’t reaching the brain, first responders have mere minutes to act because the brain is so heavily dependent on oxygenated blood. The neurons can die without it in the time it takes for an ambulance to arrive.

Even in cases where victims of ischemic cardiac arrest are resuscitated, the minutes without oxygen can lead to severe brain damage.

Researchers at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou used a life support system to try to restore neural activities in pigs’ brains 50 minutes after removing them from the body.

The goal was to test conditions in which that 5 to 8-minute window might be expanded.

The following report contains descriptions of a somewhat gory procedure on an animal that some readers may find distressing, and therefore discretion is advised.

Aged pigs already set to be put to sleep had their brains and livers removed and connected to an artificial heart and lungs by a German/Cleveland/Chinese study team.

The researchers designated their method of approach “ex vivo brain maintenance technology” in other words, a system whereby if a person’s heart fails, their brain is kept alive on an artificial one long enough for a heart transplant to occur, a situation that may happen to someone awaiting a transplant.

MORE RESEARCH LIKE THIS: New Tech Revives ‘Unusable’ Organs–10 Successful Transplants Used Kidneys That Are Normally Discarded

They called the specific procedure they carried out on the pig a “liver-assisted brain normothermic machine perfusion (NMP).” They found that the connection of the liver to the artificial heart greatly improved the condition of the brain post-resuscitation, increased activity in the cortex, and increased survival rates in the neurons.

Brain waves returned 50 minutes following removal from the body in the brains treated with NMP with the liver compared to those without.

According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, this study is the first to reveal the crucial role of the liver in repairing brain damage after cardiac arrest.

ON THE CUTTING EDGE: Titanium Maglev Heart Implanted Successfully in a Patient for First Time May Help Others Waiting for a Transplant

An analysis revealed that the mechanism responsible for this may be the liver’s crucial role as the producer of ketones in the body, a key nutrient for brain metabolism produced in the liver from the oxidation of fat.

“The ex vivo liver-assisted brain NMP model provides a unique platform for further investigating the maximum ischemic tolerance of the brain, and the roles of other organs in post-CA brain injury,” He Xiaoshun wrote in a corresponding paper on the discovery, who also told Xinhua that their work would help improve or at least better inform transplant and heart attack medicine.

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Local Artist’s Painted Coconuts Have Become a Sensation–and Are Now Found All Over the World

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - John Pavart, supplied to ABC News.
credit – John Pavart, supplied to ABC News.

Artists come from all corners, in all shapes and sizes, and from every race and religion; John Pavart and his painted coconuts are a perfect example.

The former opal miner turned painter from Australia’s state of New South Wales has been painting coconut husks for years, leaving them around the beaches of Magnetic Island for tourists and travelers to find.

It’s become one of the chief charms of the island, even though Pavart started it on a lark.

“I just happened to have a bit of art gear on me and thought I’d pick one up and paint it,” he said, detailing the phenomenon’s remarkably simple origin. “I put it down and someone picked it up and they seemed to like it, so I just kept doing it.”

They often depict sea life and beachscapes, and by now the thin “grey nomad,” a term used to describe Australians in their 50s who move around for months out of the year, believes he’s painted over 750 of them.

“Lots of people have found one and it puts a smile on someone’s face,” Mr. Pavart told ABC News Au. “I’ve got them in Brazil, Spain, England—they’re all over the world.

Pavart’s coconuts are now so in demand he occasionally has to leave Magnetic Island for Queensland, the nearest continental shoreline, to look for more.

Some of the coconuts have made it all the way to Spain – credit John Pavart, supplied to ABC News.

Once painted, he will leave a picture as a clue on a Facebook page he started to trigger a free treasure hunt, which routinely attracts many of the kids in the island’s town.

MORE LOCAL AUSTRALIAN HOBBIES: Never-Ending Literary Treasure Hunt Has Kids Finding Hidden Books, Reading, Then Re-Hiding Them for Others

He joked with ABC that between himself and the rats, the beaches are completely clear of coconuts.

SHARE This Delightful Hobby With Your Friends Down Under… 

Man is Creating 1,500-Mile Trail Across Texas for Hikers, Bikers and Horses, Investing $10,000 to Get it Done

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - XTX, released.
credit – XTX, released.

A philanthropic Texan is currently charting a 1,500-mile trail that covers all of his home state tip to tail.

From the bayou to El Paso, he envisions it as a trail worthy to be counted among America’s current collection of long-distance routes like the Appalachian Trail and Continental Divide Trail.

Describing it as “rugged, rural, remote, and romantic,” Charlie Gandy, a retired community designer and state representative, announced plans for the trail next month, calling it the XTX, or Cross Texas Trail.

Gandy has partnered with the non-profit advocacy and fundraising group Bike Texas to plan a route across the state that crosses parks, follows rural gravel roads, skirts the cities, and passes through all the terrain shades that Texas has to offer.

“As a native Texan, I’m a 66-year-old guy who likes to challenge myself to big, hairy goals and adventures—and it seemed to me like it was time for Texas to have its own Pacific Crest-type adventure route,” Mr. Gandy told Fox News Digital.

The current working route starts on the eastern border of the state near Beaumont before launching through bayous in a more-or-less flat decline from the hills north of Houston through a gap between San Antonio and Austin coupled with a loop above New Braunfels.

Completing the detour, the trail starts to climb slightly north through the desert before plunging down into Big Bend National Park in a large horseshoe curve that eventually leads directly north to the highest peak in the state, and westward to El Paso and the finish line.

Gandy is attempting to gather sponsors for the creation of an organization that will provide all the needed digital and hard-copy literature and publicity for the launch of the trail, as well as find people willing to set up water stations in desert areas.

ALSO CHECK OUT: Coveted Ranch Near San Francisco to Become Sprawling New Nature Preserve with Hiking Trails

On the way, Gandy and Bike Texas have been inundated with enthusiastic Texans offering their own opinions of where the route should take—often directly through their own land. 96% of Texas is privately owned, and some landowners want to link their properties to the legacy of the next great American trail.

Devils River, the half-way point of the XTX – credit, mlhradio, CC 2.0 via Flickr.

While Gandy is in it for the adventure, Robin Stallings, executive director of Bike Texas, is working to ensure the trail can be easily accessed by cyclists.

“It’s convenient to Houston. It’s convenient to San Antonio and Austin. And of course, it ends up in El Paso. So I think that’s a real opportunity for all these urban Texans to get out there,” Stallings told Fox News Digital.

MORE AMAZING US TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES: Oregon Outback Named World’s Largest Dark Sky Sanctuary – a Stargazer’s Paradise

The route is currently still being formulated but, Gandy is ensuring it passes through historic towns like La Grange and Chicken Ranch, and that the whole route is passable on horseback.

He points out that both the Pacific Crest Trail, running from Mexico to Vancouver, and the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine, started as one man’s passion project. He hopes that he will be remembered as one of these crazy hiking enthusiasts who had a dream and forced it to become a reality.

The estimated completion date of the route will be spring 2025.

WATCH a short video of the first 300 miles… 

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“It is not length of life, but depth of life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

By
Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “It is not length of life, but depth of life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Photo by: Azrul Aziz

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

‘We Didn’t Think Our Little Boy Would Survive’ – Now He’s Saving Lives in English Waters

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Kinsella family, released
credit – Kinsella family, released

This is Daniel Kinsella, a 16-year-old Liverpudlian who recently rescued three separate groups of paddleboarders in the family’s dinghy.

North Wales Live in the UK suggested it may have felt to young Daniel like he was settling up for a bill he owed—his own life having been saved twice as a victim of childhood cancer.

His love of the sea—the passion that saw him get certified as a junior yacht pilot—was developed through repeated trips to the sea on the Welsh island of Anglesey; a way to try and salvage some part of his childhood from being remembered solely by trips to chemotherapy appointments.

The story started at Christmas in 2012, when at just four years old, bruising, yellowed skin, and rashes saw Daniel rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with leukemia. A long spell of chemo awaited Daniel, and as part of the treatment plan, the hospital doctors at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital recommended a PICC line (peripherally inserted central catheter).

Daniel’s parents Mike and Michelle were hesitant. Picturing their family’s tradition of weekend summertime trips to go camping next to Trearddur Bay on the Isle of Anglesey, they couldn’t bear to imagine Daniel staying dry because of the PICC while his friends and cousins splashed around in the water.

Instead, they insisted on getting a Portacath—a small plastic chamber surgically implanted under the skin that allows its users to go swimming.

“Knowing what Daniel was facing, we wanted him to continue to have relative normality,” said Michelle. “He loves going there and he loves the water, and we didn’t want him sitting on the sidelines as all his friends had fun. We knew life was going to be hard enough for him anyway without him being deprived of his friends and the sea.”

Daniel went on to receive three years of chemo at Alder Hey, and it seemed to be going well. He would eventually be declared cancer-free in 2016, but not before suffering a life-threatening case of pneumonia during a springtime trip to Anglesey. He was rushed to the hospital in Bangor, Wales, and put on oxygen, to be released after a week’s long stay with scarred lungs.

Though the trip to Anglesey may have put Daniel in the grave, his parents’ perseverance in upholding the family tradition planted roots of interests and character that are now sprouting as their boy gradually becomes a man.

His love of the sea developed into a passion for tackling plastic pollution, and the local paper of his home city, the Liverpool Echo, reported that just after cancer remission at age 8, he had already become a vocal proponent of curbside recycling in his community.

KIDS AND CANCER: When Five-year-old Missed His Graduation, Plane Passengers Give Special Midair Ceremony – (WATCH)

At Anglesey, Michelle’s stepdad Paddy, an accomplished yachtsman and angler, taught his stepgrandson all he knew about tides, charts, and navigation. Along with passing all his SATs despite missing two years of school due to his chemotherapy, he mastered the Royal Yachting Association basics for sailing and powerboats—allowing him to drive his family’s rigid inflatable dinghy.

Daniel, post cancer – credit Kinsella family, released

“Mike and I have tried to give Daniel the best, because he had so much of his childhood taken away from him,” Michelle said. “We’ve tried really hard to compensate, I suppose.”

MORE CHlLDHOOD TRIUMPHS: Boy Given 1% Chance of Survival Walks 5k for Hospital That Saved Him–After Air Rifle Shot to the Head as Baby

Returning to present day, on a recent trip to Anglesey Island, Daniel was piloting the dinghy with some family and friends aboard when he picked up a distress call on Channel 16—the radiofrequency for all maritime emergencies in the UK. A family of paddleboarders had been stuck on some rocks after a strong near-shore wind carried them much farther out than they ever intended to go.

Complying with child-adult passenger ratios (part of the Royal Yachting Association rules) he turned back to drop off his friends before returning to rescue the family, who were just one of three groups of paddleboarders who Daniel rescued that day; all victims of the near-shore wind.

OTHER STORIES OF INSPIRATION: Texas Mother–Daughter Duo Given Prestigious Award from 3 Past Presidents for Easing Others’ Pain From Rare Disease

“I was super proud of him for going to people’s aid and the way in which he navigates our boat,” said Michelle. “It was a nice sunny day but that can be deceptive. The wind can blow you out and you can’t get back. It might be warm on the beach but the water is freezing.”

His love of the sea is matched only by his fascination for the skies, and the Daily Post reports that his dream is to join the RAF.

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Sicily Will be Reachable Via World’s Longest Suspension Bridge That Italians Have Wanted for Centuries

By
Andy Corbley
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A NASA satellite view of the Strait of Messina.
A NASA satellite view of the Strait of Messina.

Dreamt of since the Roman Empire, the men and women, taxpayers and taxspenders of the Italian Peninsula are preparing for an engineering project unrivaled by any in the nation’s history.

Set to begin in the waning days of 2024, a suspension bridge linking Sicily with the mainland across the Messina Strait would be the longest in the world if completed.

The country’s highly-popular Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, whose coalition took power in 2022, revived the idea for the first time since the early 2,000s. Meloni has asked the EU for assistance in funding the project, estimated to cost €4.6 billion.

The Romans had often suggested the idea of linking Sicily with the mainland, and may even have built a temporary soft bridge out of barrels. Monarchs including Charlemagne and Roger II also had ideas of building a bridge across the strait.

Dictator Benito Mussolini shared the dreams of the Romans, but it wasn’t until Meloni’s coalition partner Silvio Berlusconi’s administration that the dream took shape into something resembling a project.

Berlusconi, who passed away earlier this year, also succeeded in getting the EU on board, and in 2009, a contract for the construction was awarded to the Messina Strait Company.

During the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, then-Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti canceled the project over austerity measures.

The bridge is proposed to be both a rail and road bridge with a central span of 1.8 miles (3 kilometers) which would make it the longest in the world, passing Turkey’s bridge over the Dardanelles by a whole kilometer in distance. The bridge would be part of the Berlin–Palermo railway axis (Line 1) of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T).

THE DREAMS OF HUMANITY FULFILLED: SpaceX Lands its Rocket On a Dime– So it Can Be Reused and Launched Back into Orbit

If you want to go to Sicily, you can fly, take a boat, or take a train that’s carried by a ferry. These methods severely limit the commerce of the island, and unsurprisingly the economy of Sicily has stagnated for years.

“Starting work on the construction of the Strait Bridge is one of my goals,” Matteo Salvini, leader of the North League party that forms part of Meloni governing coalition, told Italian broadcaster RAI last month. “The transshipment of ferries, in addition to pollution and time wasting, costs people more in a year than it would cost to build the bridge.”

ALSO CHECK OUT: Madrid’s Iconic Football Stadium Now has a 4-Story Underground Greenhouse to Store ‘Retractable’ Grass Field

Not only would it allow direct shipment of goods on trucks and trains from the mainland, but imports arriving through the Suez Canal could offload directly onto Sicily, saving time and money in lengthy sea voyages up to Genova or Venezia, and allowing Scilian exports to be loaded at home—rather than being shipped up to northern cities first.

The rail and road connections on the bridge would also ease the pressure on the overcrowded ferry services, which not only deal with people, cars, and trucks, but also whole trains.

MORE BIG ENGINEERING: Engineers from 2 Countries Will Meet in the Middle to Complete the Gordie Howe Bridge, Connecting 2 Hockey-Loving Nations

It’s not all sunshine and dollar signs though, massive challenges exist in building the Messina Strait Bridge, as it would not only be the world’s longest, but sit in a famously active seismic zone.

Currently, firms from 6 different nations have been contracted for the build, including IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd. from Japan which oversaw the third-longest suspension bridge in the world in Japan, and Danish firm COWI A/S which built the Øresund Bridge, the second-longest bridge in Europe.

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Belgians Grow Heaviest Pumpkin in Europe–Weighing as Much as a Honda Civic

By
Andy Corbley
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Copyright Mario Vangeel – courtesy
Copyright Mario Vangeel – courtesy

In a Belgian town where the residents are nicknamed “pumpkin eaters,” celebrations are ringing out that a local claimed 1st prize in the European Pumpkin Championship.

At 2,539 pounds, (1,152 kg) Mario Vangeel grew the biggest pumpkin of the year.

His pumpkin had to be transported from his hometown of Kasterlee to Ludwigsburg in Germany for the competition; not so easy when your gourd weighs as much as a 2007 Honda Civic.

Vangeel took first place in the Belgian Pumpkin Championship in 2019, and second place in the European Championship back in 2021. This year, as he strapped down his pumpkin, he thought he had a chance.

“I was hoping yes, but I didn’t think I was going to win,” the 50-year-old tractor driver tells Euronews Green.

Vangeel hails from the town of Kasterlee, which is known as the town of the pumpkin eaters, as his wife, Bieke, explained.

“They found papers from the 1600s saying that because they had poor land, they couldn’t grow a lot of food. But pumpkins did very well here. And that’s where it started.”

Kasterlee boasts a giant pumpkin-growing club of 50 members, some of whom were set to challenge Vangeel at the European Championship until disaster struck: snails.

It was a rainy growing season all throughout Europe this year, and some growers lost their prized pumpkins to snails. One gentleman had managed to grow a pumpkin over 1,000 kg, but days before he was to transport it to Ludwigsburg, a snail made a little hole in it, and before long rot had set it and it couldn’t be moved.

OTHER CHARMING TRADITIONS: Step Inside the Magical World of An Ancient Tradition: Growing Rhubarb by Candlelight

Most of the pumpkins grown at the competition will be turned into boats for a silly canoe event. The gourds are hollowed out and used as boats for Kasterlee’s Pumpkin Regatta—a race that now attracts 5,000 visitors to the town to watch members of the Kasterlee Kayaking Club—and international competitors too—race down a river in hollowed-out pumpkins.

Bieke is proud of her husband, but admits that between herself and the gourd, her man found time to love only one of them. She told Euronews she’s thankful he’s no longer sleeping in the greenhouse, so to speak.

ANOTHER STORY LIKE THIS: Nebraska Man Makes World’s Longest Journey by Pumpkin Boat on 60th Birthday

ANOTHER STORY LIKE THIS: Farmers Show off Mammoth Produce at County Fair Headlined by 1,300 lbs. Pumpkin

As for Vangeel, his next plan is to compete at next year’s World Pumpkin Championship, where he hopes to break the record held by Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota. Gienger holds the record for the world’s heaviest pumpkin at 2,749 pounds (1,296 kg.)

You’re on Vangeel!

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Climate Models Need an Upgrade: Plants Absorb 31% More Carbon Than Previously Thought

By
Andy Corbley
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Zdeněk Macháček for Unsplash+
Zdeněk Macháček for Unsplash+

Plants around the world absorb 37 billion more metric tons of carbon than was previously thought, a new study has demonstrated.

It means every tree planted to try and prevexnt the worst of climate change goes 31% farther than earlier models on Earth carbon systems have calucated, and it’s believed the research will help contribute to more accurate predictions in the future as the climate changes.

The Earth has several major carbon systems that are well understood. There is a carbon system between the atmophsere and the oceans, and another between the atmosphere and the vegebiome. This is designated Terrestrial Gross Primary Production, or GPP.

GPP is typically measured by petatons per year. One petaton is 1 billion metric tons, and since the 1980s it’s been believed that GPP is around 120 per year.

A team of researchers Cornell University, with support from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, altered two key approaches to estimate GPP, which provided them with the updated figure.

The first is high-resolution data from environmental monitoring towers instead of satellite observations which can be interefered with by cloud cover, especially in the humid and rainy tropics. The second was measuring photosynthesis in plants by tracing the path of the molecule carbonyl sulfide, or OCS.

OCS, like carbon dioxide, enters the leaf tissue and is moved into chloroplasts, the engines where photosynthesis occurs. However, unlike CO2, OCS is easier to track and measure.

The team used plant data from a variety of sources to get a picture of how effeciently different genera of plants conduct photosynthesis while tracking OCS. One of the sources was the LeafWeb database at Oak Ridge Labs. The database contains photosynthesis observations from scientists all around the world.

“Figuring out how much CO2 plants fix each year is a conundrum that scientists have been working on for a while,” said Lianhong Gu, co-author and staff scientist in ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division.

GOOD CLIMATE NEWS: Trees Reveal Climate Surprise: Bark Removes Methane from the Atmosphere

“The original estimate of 120 petagrams per year was established in the 1980s, and it stuck as we tried to figure out a new approach. It’s important that we get a good handle on global GPP since that initial land carbon uptake affects the rest of our representations of Earth’s carbon cycle.”

“We have to make sure the fundamental processes in the carbon cycle are properly represented in our larger-scale models,” Gu added. “For those Earth-scale simulations to work well, they need to represent the best understanding of the processes at work. This work represents a major step forward in terms of providing a definitive number.”

OTHER POSITIVE MISCALCULATIONS: Analysis Shows We’ve Been Overestimating the Amount of Plastic in Oceans by 30x

The new OSC approach yielded a total of 157 petatons per year, equivalent to the emissions of 37.36 billion international combustion vehicles.

One of the biggest aspects of the revision was how much carbon was stored by tropical rainforest. The rainforest-born data from the OCS observations were corroborated by ground measurements and showed that tropical forests store more carbon than previously estimated—reflected the influence of clouds mentioned before.

Understanding how much carbon can be stored in land ecosystems, especially in forests with their large accumulations of biomass in wood, is essential to making predictions of future climate change, the researchers conclude.

SHARE This Good Climate News With Your Friends… 

“Fortune befriends the bold.” – Emily Dickinson

By
Good News Network
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Andre Gaulin / Unsplash

Quote of the Day: “Fortune befriends the bold.” – Emily Dickinson

Photo by: Andre Gaulin

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quote of the Day page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Andre Gaulin / Unsplash

Polish Zoo Celebrates ‘Globally unprecedented’ Birth of 4 Critically-Endangered Sumatran Tigers – (LOOK)

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Wroclaw Zoo, released.
credit – Wroclaw Zoo, released.

The birth of four tiger cubs at the Wrocław Zoo had to be kept a close secret—such was the scale of the news and the impact it would likely have on the zoo-going public.

Nuri, the cub’s mother, carried four healthy babies to term on July 22nd, and with the unlooked-for care and attention of their father Tengah, these Critically-Endangered cubs were raised in seclusion.

credit – Wroclaw Zoo, released.

Now the news is out—one of the most endangered subspecies of tiger has four healthy new members, and you can go see them explore their world at the Wrocław Zoo.

The Indonesian island of Sumatra is one of the most intact in terms of rainforest in the country. It has allowed the Sumatran tiger to live on while other Sunda subspecies like the Javan tiger have gone extinct.

It is roughly estimated that they number 400 and falling, meaning that the four cubs at the Wrocław Zoo, which are now 3 months old, represent about 1% of the total wild population.

“The birth of four Sumatran tigers is the greatest breeding success in recent years and an unprecedented event—a true global sensation. I applaud the efforts of the zoo’s staff, especially the carnivore keepers, whose work ensures the young develop healthily and contribute to the conservation of this endangered subspecies,” said Wrocław’s Mayor, Jacek Sutryk.

They number 3 males and 1 female, which could represent a boon to Sumatran tiger breeding programs across Europe as currently the females significantly outnumber the males.

50 zoos are currently safeguarding this animal from extinction as Sumatra works to protect forests and eliminate poaching.

credit – Wroclaw Zoo, released.
credit – Wroclaw Zoo, released.

“What’s interesting is that Tengah, the cubs’ father, has been involved from the start, which is unusual for tigers. He has been calm, gentle, and even helped Nuri care for the cubs, learning how to ‘handle’ the young. Currently, the cubs weigh over 8 kg, are growing well, and show no health issues,” explained Paweł Sroka, Curator of Carnivores at ZOO Wrocław.

MORE ENDANGERED CATS: Oklahoma Zoo Forecasts ‘Cloudy with a chance of cute’ After Rare Clouded Leopard Kitten Born

Proceeds from the zoo go to a poacher patrol program in Sumatra’s Kerinci Seblat National Park, which has seen 70 poachers arrested and funded local education initiatives about alternative livelihoods.

SHARE This Globally Unprecedented Litter Of Tigers With Your Friends… 

Since 1968 French Teachers Have Come to Louisiana Classrooms to Preserve French Language Through Immersion

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Consulate General of France in New Orleans
credit – Consulate General of France in New Orleans

A program that has seen French language teachers working in American immersion schools in the state of Louisiana has been extended another 4 years.

Organized by the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL), the southern city has enjoyed the fruits of the partnership for nearly 60 years and every scholastic year invites teachers from French-speaking countries around the world to teach in Louisiana to preserve the city’s unique heritage.

According to Peggy Feehan, its executive director, CODOFIL already has 155 teachers working in 14 parishes and more than 40 schools across Louisiana.

They come from not only France, but Senegal, Ivory Coast, Belgium, and Cameroon.

“It means the world to us to have a longstanding relationship with France since the beginning,” Feehan told NOLA. “Without that cooperation, that’s a lot of kids that wouldn’t have a French teacher.”

Senator Jeremy Stine (R – LO) recently returned from Paris where alongside Ronnie Morris, president of Louisiana’s state board of education, and Rodolphe Sambou, director of education for the Ministry of Education at the Consul General of France in Louisiana, the state extended France’s participation for another 4 years.

Many of the state’s parishes do not have immersion schools, but in Calcasieu, Lafayette, and Orleans, parents can enroll their children, Pre/K through 12, in schools that teach French alongside English.

MORE GOOD LANGUAGE NEWS: 89-year-old had to ‘Speak Up’ to Save Believed-Extinct Language of Indigenous People Who Revered Silence

Saint-Landry, Baton-Rogue Est, Assomption, Saint-Martin, Iberie, Jefferson, and Evangeline counties offer Pre/K through 8, and Terrebonne, Vermillion, Lincoln, and Caddo counties offer Pre/K through 5.

A full register of the immersion schools can be seen here.

KRVS, 88.7 FM, reports that the new school in Terrebonne Parish is the first Indigenous French immersion school in the state, and possibly the country.

MORE STORIES OF COOPERATION: Siri and Alexa Don’t Support African Languages But This Nonprofit Swooped in to Offer 60 New Voices – Including Welsh

Mr. Sambou said that about 250,000 people in Louisiana speak French or the French dialects spoken by some of the state’s Cajun, Creole, and Indigenous communities. Sambou added that the fact that France continues to send teachers despite teacher shortages across the country shows their commitment to the long-standing partnership.

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